President Uhuru Kenyatta has heard the plea of creatives in the Kenyan entertainment industry and offered them a lifeline.

During his address to the nation on Monday, the president directed that the Ministry of Sports, Culture, and Heritage avail R16.8 million help local artists deal with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The money, he said, would go to help the actors, artists and other entertainers continue entertaining the public through different platforms.

"I direct the Ministry of Sports, Culture, and Heritage to avail Ksh.100M from the Sports Fund to our artists, actors, and musicians during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic so that they can continue to entertain their fellow brothers and sisters through TV, radio and the internet,” Uhuru said.

The president had even better news for those in entertainment as they would be getting royalties of up to R33 million monthly.

He said this would translate to almost R337 million annually, which was to see them gain greatly from their creative success.

"Starting this month, all our local artistes will be earning a total of Ksh. 200 million per month that will be paid to musicians through the system and other platforms that we have developed. This shall translate this year to over Ksh.2 billion going into the pockets of our young artistes and young Kenyans. These payments will begin this week,” he added.

Some Kenyans, however, questioned the move on who needed the money most, claiming a number of artists and entertainers were already well off.

Here are some of those who felt the move was not necessary:

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